SPEAKERS

Timothy J. Bommer served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Wyoming for 28 years until his retirement in 2004. He has more than 35 years of trial experience, including criminal prosecution and defense prior to his civil litigation practice. A measurement of his trial and judicial experience is his charter membership in the Wyoming chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Membership is by invitation only and requires substantial jury trial experience for consideration.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Bommer was admitted to the bar in Wyoming and Colorado in 1970 . He was admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1963 and with a law degree in 1970, both from the University of Wyoming. Bommer served as deputy county and prosecuting attorney in Teton County, Wyoming, from 1970-74 and as a U.S. Magistrate Judge from 1976-2004. He was a member of the Judicial Nominating Commission from 1984-88. Other memberships include the State Bar Fee Arbitration Committee as chairman; the Board of Law Examiners Character & Fitness Committee; and the U.S. Magistrate Judges Association. He served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force from 1963-67. Judge Bommer worked as a seasonal in the Tetons while attending the University of Wyoming.

Brett Wright, Ph.D. - Dr. Wright is the chairman and a professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at Clemson University. His teaching and research interests include the human dimensions of natural resources management, park management, recreation resources policy, private lands and ecotourism.

Steve Martin, deputy director of the National Park Service, is a career veteran with 30 years experience as a manager, superintendent and park ranger. He has served as superintendent at Grand Teton and the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, Denali and Gates of the Arctic, and as director of the Intermountain Region.

Martin began his NPS career in 1975 as a park ranger at Grand Canyon after graduating from the University of Arizona with a bachelor's degree in natural resource management. He next served as north district ranger and Old Faithful district ranger in Yellowstone, as chief of resource management and visitor protection at Voyagers and as chief of concessions management at Yellowstone before heading to Alaska.

Denis P. Galvin served under three presidents as deputy director of the National Park Service: Ronald Reagan from 1985 to 1989, Bill Clinton, from 1998 to 2001, and George W. Bush, from 2001 until his retirement in 2002.

Galvin joined the National Park Service in 1963 as a civil engineer at Sequoia National Park after completing a two-year Peace Corps assignment in Tanzania, East Africa.

Subsequently he served as an engineer at Mount Rainier; in the NPS Southwest Regional Office in Santa Fe; as a training specialist at Albright Training Center, Grand Canyon; and as a management assistant at the New York District Office, overseeing park operations for units in New York and New Jersey.

In 1974 when a new NPS regional office was opened in Boston, Galvin became associate regional director for operations; two years later he became deputy director for that region. He transferred to Denver in 1978 where he was manager of the Denver Service Center. That office oversees most of the agency's planning, design and construction program. In 1985 he was selected as deputy director of the NPS.

Galvin returned to planning, design and construction in 1989 when he was named associate director for planning and development. That position also included policy, information management and land acquisition programs. In September 1997 he accepted a reassignment to deputy director. Galvin retired from the National Park Service in January 2002.

A South Boston, Massachusetts native, Galvin earned a degree in engineering in 1960 from Northeastern University. His wife, Martha, an artist and teacher, has a fine arts degree from the Corcoran Museum. They have two children. Eileen, a graduate of Temple University, is a communications manager with a large retail clothing firm, and Denis Brendan, a graduate of West Virginia University, is a database manager at Rice University in Houston.

PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS

Standards of Interpretation for Living History Programs - This session by Bert Dunkerly will explore issues related to running living history programs. Costumes are an important part of an accurate interpretation and clear guidelines are required for living history programs. Beginning with a brief overview of the development of living history and re-enactments, this presentation will discuss how historic sites approach standards of appearance. We will also discuss how programs must be tied to park themes. This will be of interest to park staff who oversee or conduct living history programs.

Dunkerly currently is an interpreter at Kings Mountain where he is the park's black powder officer and supervises the park's living history program. He holds a master's degree in historic preservation. He has worked at other parks including Colonial, George Washington Birthplace, Gettysburg and Stones River.

Gullah Geeche Resource Study - The workshop will include an overview of the Low Country Gullah Culture by Cynthia Porcher, a demonstration of the Gullah art of sweetgrass basketmaking by Vera Manigault, and a discussion of integrating heritage into the classroom by Michael Allen.

Cynthia H. Porcher is an independent research consultant who works with the National Park Service. Her recent work as field investigator on the Low Country Gullah Special Resource Study led to the introduction of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Act by Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC). She wrote the successful nomination for the Gullah/Geechee Coast to be named to the National Trust's 11 Most Endangered List for 2005.

Vera Manigault is a Mount Pleasant sweetgrass basketmaker and NPS volunteer.

Michael Allen, educational specialist at Fort Sumter National Monument, has been on the staff at Fort Sumter for more than 20 years.

Consular Notification: International Obligations When Dealing with Foreign Visitors - Presented by James A. Lawrence, Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State. Every year in the United States, thousands of foreign citizens visit our national parks. While most international visitors come here with good intentions, some may find themselves in trouble with the law. Still others may suffer serious injury or death on national park land. Would you know what your obligations were as the arresting or lead officer on such a case? This multimedia workshop will provide national park rangers with U.S. Department of State guidance on our international obligations, their importance and how to comply with them. By following the proper procedures, law enforcement officers help protect Americans overseas and can prevent prosecution cases from burdensome legal challenges. A portion of this presentation will also cover the often-misunderstood issue of diplomatic and consular immunity.

James A. Lawrence is a public affairs officer at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. He currently works in the Office of Public Affairs and Policy Coordination within the Bureau of Consular Affairs. His responsibilities include liaison work with federal, state and local criminal justice and other government officials, and outreach to congressional staffers, journalists and members of the business and foreign student communities. Previously, he served in the office of Secretary of State Colin Powell as a member of the Operations Center, the Department of State's 24-hour communications hub and crisis management center. Before joining the State Department in 2001, Lawrence worked as an intern at several international non-profit organizations. He graduated cum laude from Georgetown University with a degree in English. He has lived in Italy and France.

Great Moments in the History of Interpretation - This PowerPoint presentation is an enjoyable exploration of the story of interpretation in the National Park Service and how it has developed throught the years. The program uses many old photos of the Service and relates the practice of interpretation to the general history of the NPS. Charles W. "Corky" Mayo has 32 years of NPS experience in the fields of interpretation, training, accessibility, volunteers, concessions and cooperating associations. He began his NPS career as a seasonal ranger at Great Falls Park, Virginia, in 1968. He has had assignments at the George Washington Memorial Parkway, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and the Pacific Northwest Regional Office. In 1993 Corky started his assignment as the NPS chief of interpretation. In 1998 the Connecting People to Parks five-year plan focused interpretive work on the interpretive development program, comprehensive interpretive plans, and the assessment and replacement of interpretive media. A New Jersey native, Corky has a bachelor's degree in American history from American University, Washington, D.C., and a master's in the same field from George Mason University. He is a founding member of the National Association for Interpretation, an excellent cook and a mediocre surf fisherman.

Author Jordan Fisher Smith - Discussion and Reading from "Nature Noir" (book signing) - Jordan Fisher Smith is the author of Nature Noir: A Park Ranger’s Patrol in the Sierra. Newsweek magazine says of Smith, “He writes about the natural world with more grace than anyone since Edward Abbey.” Smith will talk about and read from Nature Noir, discuss the writing process, and take questions on writing from those who either write for publication or might like to write. Books will be available for purchase and he will be happy to sign them.

Jordan Fisher Smith grew up along the boundary of Muir Woods National Monument in northern California. He went to work for the U.S Forest Service as a wilderness ranger and part-time firefighter in the late 1970s, worked seasonally for NPS as a law enforcement/general ranger and park medic at Sequoia-Kings Canyon and later Lake Clark in Alaska, and was a permanent ranger for the California State Parks for 16 years. He began writing for national magazines on nature and the environment in 1992.

Smith’s first book, Nature Noir: A Park Ranger’s Patrol in the Sierra, has been on the bestseller list in California, is now in its third printing in hardcover, and will appear in paperback next spring. The New York Times Book Review calls Nature Noir “eloquently meditative,” and an April review in Outside Magazine stated: “Nature Noir marks the debut of a terrific new nature writer.”

Jordan Fisher Smith retired from rangering in 2000 after contracting Lyme disease in the course of his work. He now writes from the northern Sierra Nevada of California. For more information see www.naturenoir.com

Author Nancy E. Muleady-Mecham - "True Stories From A Ranger's Career in America's National Parks" - Discussion and Book Signing - Nancy Muleady-Mecham has been an NPS ranger since 1979. She has worked as both a seasonal and permanent ranger in five national park areas, including Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Death Valley, The USS Arizona Memorial, Everglades and Grand Canyon, with special assignments in three others (Hurricane Andrew Relief and Homeland Security assignments). After two seasons with the U.S. Forest Service, she joined the NPS as a seasonal naturalist, then began her career in the protection division more than 20 years ago. She has also completed her Ph.D. in biology and is an adjunct professor at Northern Arizona University. With her degree as a registered nurse, she works part-time in the emergency room at Flagstaff Medical Center. Her new book, Park Ranger: True Stories From A Ranger's Career In America's National Parks, has received enthusiastic and excellent reviews from both park personnel and general readers. She is an avid hiker and backpacker and recently completed a solo hike of the John Muir and High Sierra Trails through the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Arlington House Applied History Program: From Intern to Seasonal Ranger -- This session examines the Applied History Program at Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial. In this highly successful partnership program, students from a local high school complete an internship at Arlington House. Students work on a variety of assignments including interpretation, research, program development and curatorial projects. The park historian recruits, supervises and evaluates students. At the completion of the semester, three students are hired as STEP employees, avoiding the problems associated with hiring from a cert and increasing efficiency. This program is now entering its fifth year and remains popular with students.

Karen Kinzey has been the historian at Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, since 1997. She directs the park's research and publications programs. In 2001 she established the partnership with West Springfield High School that led to the creation of the Applied History Program at Arlington. Since 2001 29 students have participated in the program. Kinzey holds a master's degree in history from Virginia Tech. She has been employed with NPS since 1998.

Liberty Square - Participants will learn about new exhibits and partnerships at Liberty Square and then tour Fort Sumter. The group will meet at 1:30 p.m. at Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center, Liberty Square, 340 Concord St., (east end of Calhoun Street) by the South Carolina Aquarium. There will be time for a presentation on exhibit design with discussion about sensitive topics and partnering efforts. Free time will be available to view the exhibit hall. At 2:30 a tour boat will depart for Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, returning at 4:45 p.m. to Liberty Square.

Carlin Timmons is an interpretive park ranger at Fort Sumter. She has a degree in southern history and has worked at Fort Sumter since 1993. She was part of the team that developed the Liberty Square exhibits.

Caring For America's National Parks: The National Park Service Approach to Asset Management - Tim Harvey is the team leader of the NPS Asset Management Program for the Washington Park Facility Management Office. A California native, he got his start in national parks when his family moved to Yosemite when he was just 7. As a young adult he began working seasonally in the parks as a fire control aide for the Forest Service and the National Park Service. Later he served in the U.S. Army four years, then returned to Yosemite as a wastewater treatment plant operator. He subsequently transferred to Grand Canyon in a similar capacity. A graduate of Fresno City College, Harvey also has worked as a facility manager at Glen Canyon and Mount Rushmore. He assumed the team leader post for the Asset Management Program at WASO in 1998. He has served on many committees and work groups including the Rocky Mountain Region Maintenance Advisory Group and the Great Plains Cluster Maintenance Advisory Team.

Negotiated Rulemaking: Collaborative Environmental Problem Solving - Parks are facing increasingly difficult challenges in protecting critical habitat within a politically charged environment. Several parks over the past few years (Cape Cod NS, Fire Island NS, Golden Gate NRA and Cape Hatteras NS) have used, or are in the process of using negotiated rulemaking as a technique to solve their issues. Barry Sullivan, general superintendent of Gateway NRA and former acting superintendent of Fire Island, will present a session explaining how negotiated rulemaking works and examine the lessons learned at Fire Island. Sullivan's 30-year career has taken him to Fire Island, Delaware Water Gap, Blue Ridge Parkway, Theodore Roosevelt, Gateway and Edison. He has a bachelor's degree in biology from Kean University and a master's in environmental studies from Southern Connecticut State University.

FIELD TRIPS - Wednesday, Dec. 7

Option #1: Historical Tour - Tour of Revolutionary War and Civil War sites, including the HL Hundley, around the Charleston area. This is a six-hour tour of various Civil War and Revolutionary War sites in the area conducted by Rick Hatcher, historian, Fort Sumter NM. Cost: $14. The trip also will include an opportunity to visit the HL Hundley ($10 additional cost, pay at location) of Civil War fame.

Option #2: Cultural Site Tour - Gullah cultural sites in and around Charleston. For those seeking a shorter field day this tour is only one-half day. Cost: $14.